A New Threat: Donald Trump Mentions Cuba in Recent Speech
President Donald Trump declared on Friday that “Cuba is next,” rejecting the idea that recent American military operations could cost him political support in his country.
The communist Cuban government is facing increasing pressure from Donald Trump, who imposed a de facto oil blockade in January and hinted at the possibility of “taking” control of the Caribbean.
Speaking at the FII Priority investment forum in Miami, Donald Trump stated that his “Make America Great Again” movement seeks “strength” and “victory,” referring to the January raid where American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Resistance from Cuba
The President affirmed, “I have built this great army. I said, ‘You will never use it,’ but sometimes, we have no choice. And Cuba is next, by the way. But pretend like I didn’t say anything.” Donald Trump did not specify his plans regarding Cuba, telling the media to “ignore this statement” before repeating “Cuba is next,” causing laughter from the audience.
In his speech, the Republican President also referred to the Strait of Hormuz as the “strait of Trump.” Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel stated last week that any external aggressor would face an “indestructible resistance,” despite the country experiencing two national power outages within a week.
The United States has imposed a commercial embargo on Cuba for decades. Relations had improved in recent years but deteriorated significantly again since Donald Trump began his second term, aiming to strengthen Washington’s influence over Latin America.
A Cuban diplomat recently stated that Havana is willing to continue dialogue with Washington, but there is no discussion about changing their political system.
